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FRONTISPIECE. 



HANNAH SWANTON, 

H 

THE CASCO CAPTIVE; 

OR j THE 

CATHOLIC KELIGION IN CANADA, 

AN D ITS 

INFLUENCE ON THE INDIANS IN MAINE. 



Written f 07' the Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, and 
approved by the Committee of Publication. 



THIRD EDITION. 



BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository, No. 13 Cornhill. 



Est 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1837, 

By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



<// 3 



*r 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Mrs. Swanton's removal from Massachusetts 

to Casco Bay in Maine, 9 

i Conference of Bonrmaseen, an Indian Chief, 

with a minister of Boston, .... 15 

How Boman Catholics corrupt the Gospel, . 16 

. Scenery in Casco, now Portland, .... 20 
Evil influence of Boman Catholics on the 

Indians of Maine, 26 

Mrs. Swanton taken captive by the Indians, 30 

Mrs. Swanton arrives at Quebec, .... 39 

Boman Catholic arguments, 45 

Fellowship with the Boman Catholic religion 

« declined, 47 

Sorrow for sin, 49 

Comfort in religion, 52 

* Deliverance from captivity, 56 

Maine flourishes by religion and peace, . . 57 
Appendix. Roman Catholic principles in 

i Canada qq 

1* 



ADVERTISEMENT, 



What is here presented to the reader, is taken 
chiefly from the Rev. Cotton Mather's "Magnalia, 
or Ecclesiastical History of New England.'' The 
object has been to keep to historical truth. The 
dates and places mentioned, testify that you have 
here fact, and not fiction. 



HANNAH SWANTON. 



^ « ^ ^ 



RESIDENCE IN CASCO BAY. 

Hannah Swanton removed, with her 
husband and children, from Beverly, in 
Massachusetts, to Casco Bay, in Maine, 
when there were only a few families set- 
tled along the shores and near the mouths 
of the rivers, and several miles in the 
interior. She left religious privileges, and 
exposed herself and family to many pri- 
vations, and to the attacks of savage 
Indians, that the family might obtain 
earthly gain. She afterwards thought it 
folly and sin to forsake the worship of 
God for mere worldly advantage. The 
result, in her case, remarkably resembled 
that of Lot, who lifted up his eyes, and 
looked on the well-watered and fertile 



10 HANNAH SWANTON, 

plains of Sodom, when he chose the place 
of his abode, and did not sufficiently regard 
the spiritual dangers to which he might 
expose himself. The soil of Sodom was 
indeed rich, but its people were wicked; 
and if the luxuriance of the country pro- 
duced him abundance, yet the guilt of its 
inhabitants brought utter ruin on them 
and him. We may look at the local 
situation of Mrs. Swanton's residence, that 
we may understand how she met with 
the calamities following a fatal Indian 
assault. 

The place of her habitation was that 
which is now occupied by the busy popu- 
lation of Portland. This is a peninsula 
extending into Casco Bay, but protected 
from the violence of the ocean by Cape 
Elizabeth, and by numerous islands, 
which form a wall, unbroken, in appear- 
ance, against the winds and the waves 
of the great deep. Here, therefore, was a 
favorable place for light Indian canoes to 
float securely on the water, or for their 
temporary wigwams to be erected on the 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 11 

land. Only about six thousand Indians 
obtained a miserable, scanty subsistence in 
all the great forests, and along all the 
great rivers of Maine. The gospel had 
not come among them to teach them to 
labor, and to lay aside the tomahawk and 
scalping-knife, the arrow and the gun, 
and love their neighbor as themselves, 
and worship God, and hear his holy word 
on the sacred Sabbath. They were there- 
fore immoral and wretched, as the hea- 
then generally are. And this is to be 
deplored, that they were the worse for the 

* influence of professed Christians over 
them. The French and English, though 
neighbors to each other, and bearing the 
Christian name, were often engaged in the 
unnatural, unchristian work, of doing each 
other all the harm they could, even to 

* the destruction of life. From the French, 
therefore, in Canada, the Indians came 
with powder and guns, and with French 

* priests and military officers, to lead them 
on to the dreadful work of murdering 
and plundering and enslaving the English 



12 HANNAH SWANTON, 

families along the shores of Maine. They 
came down the rivers, known as the 
Androscoggin and the Kennebec; both to 
subsist on the fish they caught in their 
waters, and to transport themselves in 
their birch canoes. As these rivers meet 
together within a few miles of the north- 
eastern arm of Casco Bay, here was a 
favorable place for their passage, and then, 
after carrying terror and distress and 
havoc to the settlements along in Maine, 
in Casco, Saco, Wells and Berwick, they 
retired by Salmon Falls river, and perhaps 
by Connecticut river, or Lake Champlain, 
back to Canada. Where, all this time, 
were the ministers of Jesus ? Where was 
the peaceful and benevolent spirit of his 
religion? One might think, as he looked 
at these melancholy scenes, that his follow- 
ers were sent out, not to save men's lives, 
but to destroy them. Had all the pro- 
fessed Christians, who had access to the 
Indians, given them the Bible, instead of the 
musket, and the spelling-book instead of 
the murderous knife, other scenes would 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 13 

have been witnessed ; and this interesting 
race of men might now have been happy- 
cultivators of the soil, and have presented 
a living, enlightened, Christian population, 
where now they are remembered only as an 
extirpated people. Never more may the 
intercourse of Christians prove so fatal to 
any nation ! May we not involve them in 
our quarrels to their destruction; but go 
together in the spirit of brotherly love, to 
present them the gospel — and to preserve, 
instruct, reform, evangelize and bless 
them. 

The early settlers of Maine were the 
victims, not only of national ambition, but 
of religious bigotry. Men are necessarily 
religious in some way, for their reason 
teaches them that there must be some 
being or beings superior to themselves; 
and their conscience convinces them of sin, 
and they have natural fears of evil. If, 
therefore, they have no revelation of the 
true God, and of the right way of escaping 
his displeasure by the only sufficient sacri- 
fice for sin, the offering of the divine 



14 HANNAH SWANTON, 

Redeemer, they will fear false gods, and 
will depend on burdensome ceremonies, 
empty forms, austerities, or cruel rites. 
If men do not adopt the true religion, they 
will adopt a corrupt or false religion ; and 
such a religion will curse rather than bless 
a people, and will make them intolerant, 
cruel and vicious, instead of reforming them 
and making them holy. 

Such was the religion of the French of 
Canada ; — it was the bigotry of the Church 
of Rome. This people have been repre- 
sented as naturally kind and hospitable. 
Mrs. Swanton found them such ; and 
others have borne the same testimony of 
them ; but their religion did not encourage 
this disposition ; and this fact may appear 
in the following narrative. The true 
character of Catholic bigotry, and the 
danger experienced by the first settlers of 
Maine from this spirit, may be seen by 
what will now be related of a confer- 
ence between a minister of Boston and a 
company of captive Indian warriors, in 
L696 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 15 



BOMMASEEN, AN INDIAN CHIEF. 

Bommaseen was one of the Indian chiefs 
or princes ; and was taken, with some 
fellow-warriors, in one of the settlements 
of Maine. Being now with some other 
Indians, a prisoner in Boston, he desired a 
conference with a minister of the city, 
which was granted him. Bommaseen, 
with the assent of the other Indians, then 
told the minister that he wished for his 
instruction in the Christian religion ; as he 
feared that the French, in what they had 
taught about this religion, had deceived 
them. The minister inquired of him what 
instructions of the French appeared most 
suspicious. He replied that the French 
taught them, that the Lord Jesus Christ 
was of the French nation ; that his 
mother, the Virgin Mary, was a French 
lady ; that they were the English who 
had murdered him ; and that whereas he 
rose from the dead, and ascended into 



16 HANNAH S WANTON, 

heaven, all who would recommend them- 
selves to his favor, must avenge him on the 
English as far as they could. He asked the 
minister whether these things were so, and 
prayed for instruction in the true Christian 
religion. The minister, considering that it 
was the disposition and manner of the 
Indians to use much similitude in their 
discourses, looked about for some agreeable 
object, by which he might, with apt com- 
parison, convey the ideas of truth into the 
minds of the savages; and he thought none 
would be more agreeable to them than a 
tankard of drink, which happened then to 
be standing on the table. He proceeded, 
therefore, in the following manner with 
them : 

HOW ROMAN CATHOLICS CORRUPT 
THE GO SPEL. 

He told them, as with proper actions 
he presented the signs to them, that our 
Lord Jesus Christ had given us a good 
religion, which might be compared to the 
good drink in the cup upon the table. 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 17 

That if we take this good religion (even 
that good drink) into our hearts, it will do 
us good, and preserve us from death. 
That God's Book, the Bible, is the cup 
wherein that good drink of religion is 
offered us. 

That the French, having the cup of 
good drink in their hands, had put poison 
into it, and had then made the Indians 
drink that poisoned liquor ; by which they 
run mad, and began to kill the English, 
though they could not but know that it must 
unavoidably end in their own destruction 
at last. 

That it was plain the English had put no 
poison into the good drink ; for they set the 
cup wide open, and invited all men to come 
and see before they tasted, even the very In- 
dians themselves ; for they had translated 
the Bible into Indian. That they might 
infer from this that the French had put 
poison into the good drink ; as they had 
kept the cup fast shut (the Bible in an 
unknown tongue, the Latin), and kept their 
hands upon the eyes of the Indians, when 
they put it to their mouths. 



18 HANNAH SWANTON, 

The Indians, expressing themselves to be 
well satisfied with what the minister had 
thus far said, prayed him to go on, and 
show them what was the good drink, and 
what was the poison which the French had 
put into it. 

He then stated to them distinctly the 
chief articles of the Christian religion, 
with all the simplicity and sincerity of a 
Protestant ; adding upon each, This is 
the good drink in the Lord's cup of life; 
and they still professed that they liked 
it all. 

He further demonstrated to them, how 
the Papists had, in their idolatrous popery, 
in some way or other depraved every one 
of these articles, with base ingredients of 
their own invention; adding upon each, 
This is the poison which the French have 
put into the cup. 

At last he mentioned this article. 

To obtain the pardon of your sins, you 
must confess them to God, and pray to him 
to pardon them for the sake of Jesus Christ, 
who died for the sins of his people. God 
loves Jesus Christ infinitely ; and if you 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 19 

place your eye on Jesus Christ, and him 
only, when you beg the pardon of your 
sins, God will pardon them. You need 
confess your sins to none but God, except 
when men have known your sins, or have 
been hurt by them; and then those men 
should know that you confess your sins; 
but, after all, none but God can pardon 
them. 

He then added, The French have put 
poison into this good drink. They tell 
you, that you must confess your sins to a 
priest, and submit to a penance enjoined 
by a priest ; and this priest is to give you a 
pardon. There is no need of all this cere- 
mony to obtain pardon. It is nothing but 
French poison, all of it. 

The Indians appeared astonished to meet 
with one who would put them in a way to 
obtain the pardon of their sins without 
paying their beaver skins for it; and, in a 
rapture of admiration, they fell on their 
knees, took the minister's hand into theirs, 
and began to kiss it with an extreme show 
of affection. 

He shook them off, however, with dislike of 



20 HANNAH SWANTON, 

their posture ; and Bommaseen, with the rest, 
stood up, and lifted up his eyes and hands 
to heaven, and declared that God should be 
judge of his heart in what he said. He 
then said, "Sir, I thank you for these 
things ; I resolve to spit up all the French 
poison ; you shall be my father ; I will be 
your son ; I beseech you to continue to 
instruct me in that religion which may 
bring me to the salvation of my soul." 

Of the result of this conference it is only 
added — Now God knows what heart 
this Indian had when he so expressed him- 
self; and to him let us leave it. 

SCENERY ABOUT PORTLAND. 

The powerful influence of artful priests 
operated, therefore, upon the savage spirits 
of the Indians, to urge them on to assault, 
and harrass and destroy the young families 
of Maine. Thus a cloud was gathering 
afar off, that was to move on sullenly, and 
pour its ruinous storm upon the little settle- 
ment on the Neck in Casco Bay. This 
Neck is a tract of land between Fore River 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 21 

and Back Cove, which the buildings of 
Portland now cover. It is a graceful 
sweep between two hills, narrowing as it 
sinks, till the middle forms a neck, and 
then widening as it rises again to the 
opposite hill. From the hill on the east at 
the end of the peninsula, called Munjoy's 
hill, an extensive, and now a beautiful 
prospect is presented. Immediately under 
your eye lies the populous and spacious 
grave-yard ; and then the houses, inter- 
spersed with churches and other public 
buildings, stretch along, till the eye rests 
upon the agreeable and yet unoccupied 
plain which forms the summit of the hill 
on the other side of the city. Along the 
left, on Fore River, is the shipping, which 
adds much life and cheerfulness to the 
scenery. Beyond the city, west and north, 
the land gently rises like an amphitheatre 
spreading to the view, through the distance 
of thirty miles; and then, beyond these 
hills, at about sixty miles' distance, rises 
the majestic White Mountains, white almost 
through the year with their lasting snows, 



22 HANNAH SWANTON, 

and thus suggesting the name they bear. 
Over this prospect are presented to the 
vision, villages adorned with temples of the 
living God. At the east is exhibited a de- 
lightfully mingled scenery of land and 
water, furnished by the expanse of Casco 
Bay and its many islands, with the 
rivers that run, and the points that project 
into it. On the south extends the great 
and wide sea, spotted here and there with 
sails, that appear large or small according 
to their distance, and all suggest interest- 
ing thoughts of the life and bustle and 
wealth which they contain. In a spot 
where the prospect all around is so wide, 
and the objects seen are so various, so 
beautiful, or interesting in themselves, and 
so finely grouped, the religious mind will 
adore in thought the power, skill and bene- 
ficence of God. 

How monstrous that, amidst the grand- 
eur, the beauty, the luxuriance, and the 
nameless accommodations for man which 
the earth presents, through the goodness 
of the Creator, there thould be hypocrisy, 



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24 HANNAH SWANTON, 

bigotry, encroachment, fraud, violence and 
bloodshed. How strong is the contrast 
between the glory of God's works of 
creation, and the depravity of the ra- 
tional beings who dwell amidst these 
works ! 

Was this fair world made to be marred 
by the various operations of war ; and 
by scenes of cruelty, fraud and sensu- 
ality? We might think the earth would 
refuse to bear so much wickedness, 
and that the sun would refuse to look 
upon it. 

There have been times" when this idea 
has been realized ; when God has caused 
the earth to open and swallow up daring 
offenders, and when the heavens have 
poured down destructive storms upon a 
wicked and accursed people. 

Let the reader pause and reflect that 
man's wickedness is suffered to rage for 
this reason, that as he is created with the 
powers of a moral agent, he is left to act 
in this capacity, that he may form and 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 25 

exhibit his character, and he may, accord- 
ing to it, be either cursed or blessed. 

The history, therefore, of every village, 
of every family, and, indeed, of every 
individual, will be rich in instruction. It 
will exhibit man's guilt and folly, and 
their fatal consequences ; or it will display 
his fear of God — his wisdom, and the 
happy result of faith and obedience. 

Munjoy's hill is now completely bare, 
without tree or shrub and with only short 
scanty grass cropped close by the cows that 
in summer days pasture on it, and crowned 
on its summit by the Observatory and a 
few dwelling-houses, and occupied on its 
brow by a decaying battery, and about its 
sides and base by the habitations of a 
populous city. Bat at the period to which 
this history relates, it was covered with a 
forest; and, if you could look through its 
trees, upon the wilderness below, you 
might near the shore see the abodes of 
twenty-five families, some of them garri- 
soned houses ; and at. the left, on a point, 
projecting into Fore River, and terminating 



26 HANNAH SWANTON, 

in a cliff, ^ Fort Loyal, the place of refuge 
and defence, to which families retired 
when their garrisons could not resist a 
powerful foe. Here lived the family of 
Mrs. Swanton. 

EVIL INFLUENCE OF ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS 
ON THE INDIANS OF MAINE. 

Over the Indians of New England, the 
French of Canada early acquired a power- 
ful influence; and from Quebec they excit- 
ed the tenants of the woods to attack the 
young and feeble setlements on the coast 
of Maine. Thury, about 1690, was a 
Catholic missionary on the banks of the 
Penobscot ; and in his zeal for his faith, he 
labored to persuade the Indians that, by 
exterminating all the English families in 
Maine, they would again become sole 
masters of the land, and would do Cod 
service. " My children," said this warrior 
missionary to his flock, "God commands 



* Where India Street terminates, and where is now the 
Steamboat Landing. 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 27 

you to shake the sleep from your eyes. 
The hatchet must be cleaned of its rust, to 
avenge him of his enemies, and to secure 
to you your rights. Night and day a con- 
tinual prayer shall ascend to him for your 
success ; an unceasing rosary shall be 
observed until you return covered with the 
glory of triumph." 

Monsieur Denonville, a French ruler in 
Canada, acknowledged to the Minister of 
Marine in France, that he owed to the 
missionaries, and particularly to two priests, 
the friendship of the Indians in Maine, and 
their success in their expeditions against 
the English. 

In 1688, the Indians, encouraged by 
promise of assistance from the French in 
Canada, began to assail the eastern planta- 
tions in Maine, after some years of peace. 
The next year a large body of Indians, in 
120 canoes, attacked Falmouth, now Port- 
land. In the merciful providence of God, 
Col. Benjamin Church, with soldiers from 
Massachusetts, arrived the very day before 
the attack was made, and thus saved the 



28 HANNAH SWANTON, 

whole population of the town from the 
merciless savages. In 1690, the place was 
assailed again, the enemies consisting of 
French and Indians. The inhabitants had 
no public military force for their defence. 
and they fled to their garrisons, which 
were dwelling-houses, built in such a 
manner as to allow of being defended 
against an enemy. From the garrisons 
they retreated to the fort. Here they de- 
fended themselves for several days; but 
at length, on the 20th of May, they surren- 
dered, on condition that they should be 
safely conducted to the next English town, 
and that the Governor of the French should 
hold up his hand and swear, by the great 
and ever-living God, that the condition 
should be observed. 

But when they had delivered themselves 
up, the engagement was violated, and men, 
women, and children were suffered to be 
made captives in the hands of the heathen, 
and to be cruelly murdered, especially the 
wounded men. Such are the fatal fruits 
of the custom of war ! Such is the off- 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 29 

f 



spring of the bigotry of a corrupt church 
Such are the consequences of man's apos- 
tacy from God ! If individuals of Christian 
nations have suffered from the violence and 
perfidy of pagans; others, disgracing the 
Christian name, have inflicted enormous 
wrongs upon uncivilized nations. Our 
ancestors are not guiltless. They visited 
this country, with the sword in one hand, 
while they held the Bible in the other, and 
they looked upon the Indians too much as 
savages, who were to be coerced or extir- 
pated, rather than as rational beings who 
might be Christianized. It is humbling to 
observe how little has been done, from the 
time when Maine was explored and settled, 
to this day, to instruct the Indians in the 
knowledge of the gospel, by Protestant 
teachers. At this day, missionaries labor 
with safety in all countries; and the oppo- 
sition they encounter, is from papal rather 
than from pagan enemies. God has, how- 
ever, wrenched the sword from the hand 
of antichrist, and he can only rage and 
threaten, not smite and destroy. But it 



3# 



30 

was not so in the early days of New 
England. The Pope has the same dispo- 
sition now as then, but not the same power. 
The Roman Church professes to be infalli- 
ble, and must therefore be immutable ; and 
what it was in the days of its power, it is 
in disposition now in the days of its weak- 
ness. Now, however, we see the lion, not 
roaring and ravening in the forest, but 
confined in a cage, and incapable of show- 
ing his natural ferocity. 

Among the persons who suffered by 
French, Indian, and Roman Catholic hos- 
tility, when Falmouth was assailed, was 
Hannah Swanton. She thus describes her 
captivity and deliverance. 

MRS. SWANTON TAKEN CAPTIVE BY 
THE INDIANS. 

I was taken by the Indians when Casco* 
fort was taken, in May, 1690. My hus- 
band was slain, and my four children were 



* Falmouth, being in Casco Bay, was often called Caeco. 



THE CASC0 CAPTIVE. 31 

taken with me. The eldest of my sons 
they killed about two months after I was 
taken; and the rest were scattered from 
me. I was left a widow, and as bereaved 
of my children ; for, though they were 
alive, 1 could see them but very seldom, 
and had not liberty to converse with them 
without danger either to my life or theirs ; 
for our mutual condolence and affection so 
displeased our Indian masters, to whose 
share we fell, that they would threaten to 
killv us, if we conversed much, or cried 
together. Thus my condition was like 
what the Lord threatened, in Ez. 24 : 22, 
23. " Ye shall not cover your lips, nor 
eat the bread of men. And your tires 
shall be upon your heads, and your shoes 
upon your feet ; ye shall not mourn nor 
weep ; but ye shall pine away for your 
iniquities, and mourn one toward another." 
We dared not mourn nor weep in the sight 
of our enemies, lest we should lose our 
lives. At first, while the enemy feasted 
on our English provisions, I might have 
had some with them, but then I was so 



32 HANNAH SWANTON, 

filled with sorrow and tears, that I had 
little appetite to eat ; and when my appe- 
tite returned, our English food was spent; 
and the Indians themselves wanted, and 
we much more, and then I pined with 
hunger. We had no corn nor bread ; but 
sometimes ground-nuts, acorns, purslain, 
hog-weed, weed, roots, and sometimes 
dog's flesh, but not sufficient of these to 
satisfy hunger. We had no success at 
hunting, except that one bear was killed, 
of which I had part. Another time I had 
a very small part of a turtle; and once an 
Indian gave mc a piece of a moose's liver, 
which was a sweet morsel to me. We 
had fish also, when we could catch it. 
Thus I continued with them, hurried up 
and down the wilderness, from May 20th 
to the middle of February, continually 
carrying a great burden. I must go, too, 
at their pace, or be immediately killed. 
At the same time, I suffered from cold, 
through want of clothing, being dressed by 
them in Indian apparel, with a sligh 
blanket, no stockings, and but one pair oi 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 33 

Indian shoes, and of their leather stockings 
for the winter. My feet were sometimes 
wounded by sharp stones and prickly 
bushes, and at other times they were 
pinched by snow and ice ; for upon this I 
traveled, ready to be frozen, and to faint 
from want of food, so that I often thought 
I could go no further, but must lie down 
and let them kill me if they would. Yet 
then, God so renewed my strength, that I 
went on still further, as my master re- 
quired, and held out with them. 

Though many Englishmen were taken, 
and I was with them, at times, while about 
Casco Bay and Kennebec River, yet at 
Norridgewock we we separated, and none 
of the English were in our company, 
but a man named John York, and myself. 
We were both almost starved, and yet we 
were told that if we could not travel on 
with them they would kill us. And ac- 
cordingly, when Mr. York grew weak 
from want of food, they killed him, and 
threatened me with the same fate. Once 
my Indian mistress and myself were left 



34 HANNAH SWANTON, 

alone, while the rest of the party went 
away to fish; and they left us no food 
from Sabbath morning to the next Satur- 
day, except a piece of an .animal that could 
not be eaten. On Saturday I was sent by 
my mistress to that part of the island 
where I should probably see some canoe, 
and there make a fire and smoke, to invite 
some Indians, if I should spy any, to come 
and relieve us. I discovered a canoe, and 
by signs I invited them to the shore. 
They proved to be Indian women, who 
understood our wants, and one of them 
gave me a roasted eel, which seemed to 
me the most palatable food I ever ate. 
Sometimes we lived on whortleberries, and 
sometimes on a kind of wild cherry which 
grew on bushes. Tiiese I was once sent 
to gather in a season so bitterly cold, that 
I was not able to grasp them with my 
benumbed fingers. Amidst these hard- 
ships, God preserved me from sickness, 
and from such weakness as would have 
disabled me from traveling when required. 
My Indian mistress had been brought up 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 



35 



by the English at Black Point, in Scar- 
borough, near to Falmouth, and was now 
married to a Canada Indian, and had 
become a Papist; she would sometimes 
say, that, had the English been as careful 





to instruct her in their religion as the 
French were to instruct her in theirs, she 
might have been of their religion ; and she 
would say, that God delivered us into their 
hands to punish us for our sins, and this I 
knew was true as to myself. And as I 
desired to recollect all the sins, for which 
the Lord punished me, so this lay many a 



36 HANNAH S WANTON, 

time very heavy upon my spirit, that I 
had left the public worship and ordinances 
of God, where I formerly lived, at Beverly, 
and removed to Casco Bay, where there 
was no church nor minister of the gospel. 
And this we did, for large accommodations 
in the world, thereby exposing our children 
to be brought up ignorantly like Indians, 
and exposing ourselves also to forget what 
we had been taught. Thus we turned our 
back upon God's ordinances, to get this 
world's goods. But now God stripped me 
of these things also; and I could not but 
justify him in all that befell me, and ac- 
knowledge that he had punished me less 
than my iniquities deserved. I was now 
bereaved of husband, children, friends, 
neighbors, house, estate, bread, clothes, 
and suitable lodging. My very life was 
daily exposed, as I was in continual 
danger of being killed by the Indians, or of 
pining to death from famine, or of tiring to 
death by hard traveling, or of perishing 
with cold in the winter season. I was so 
amazed with many troubles, and perplexed 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 37 

by anxious cares, how to preserve myself 
from danger, and supply my urgent wants, 
that I had not time nor leisure to consider 
aright the great concerns of my soul ; 
neither had I any Bible or good book 
to look into, or Christian friend to consult, 
in these distresses; but I may say, the 
words of God, which 1 had formerly heard 
or read, came often into my mind, and 
kept me from perishing in my afflictions. 
For example, when they threatened many 
times to kill me, I often thought of the 
words of our Saviour to Pilate, " Thou 
couldst have no power at all against me, 
except it were given thee from above." 
I knew they had no power to kill me but 
what the Lord gave them; and I hoped he 
would not suffer them to slay me, but 
deliver me out of their hands, and in his 
time restore me to my country again. 
When they told me that my eldest son 
was killed by the Indians, I thought of 
Jer. 33: 8. "I will cleanse them from 
all their iniquity whereby they have sinned 
against me, and I will pardon all their 



38 H ANNAN S WANTON, 

iniquities." I hoped, though the enemy 
had barbarously killed his body, yet that 
the Lord had pardoned his sins, and that 
his soul was safe. When I thought of my 
many troubles, I remembered Job's com- 
plaint, "Thou numberest my steps, and 
watchest over my sin ; my transgression is 
sealed up in a bag; and thou sewest up 
mine iniquity." This humbled me, and 
made me pray to God for his pardoning 
mercy in Christ; and I thought of David's 
complaint, and used it in my prayers : 
" How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? 
for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face 
from me? How long shall I take counsel 
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart 
daily? how long shall mine enemy be 
exalted over me?" I sometimes bemoaned 
myself as Job, " He hath stripped me of 
rny glory, and taken the crown from my 
head. He hath destroyed me on every 
side, and I am gone : and my hope hath 
he removed like a tree." Yet sometimes I 
was encouraged by those words in Job, 
"Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE, 39 

and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay 
thy vows." I made my vows to the Lord, 
that I would give myself up to him, if he 
would accept me in Jesus Christ, and would 
pardon my sins; and I desired and en- 
deavored to pay my vows to the Lord. I 
prayed to him, u Remember not against 
me the sins of my youth;" and I be- 
sought him, " Judge me, O God, and plead 
my cause against an ungodly nation ; de- 
liver me from the deceitful and unjust 
man. Why go I mourning because of the 
oppression of the enemy !" By many other 
Scriptures, also, that were brought to my 
remembrance, was I instructed, directed, 
and comforted. 

MRS. S WANTON ARRIVES AT QUEBEC, 

Now I traveled over steep and hideous 
mountains, and again over swamps and 
thickets of fallen trees, lying one, two, or 
three feet from the ground, stepping from 
one to another, and thus passing near a 
thousand in a day, and carrying a great 



40 HANNAH SWANTON, 

burden on my back. Yet I dreaded going 
to Canada, from fear that I should be per- 
suaded to adopt their religion; which I 
had vowed to God that I would not do. 
But at length my sufferings became so 
extreme, that I was willing to go to pre- 
serve my life. After many wearisome 
journeys, through frost and snow, we came 
to Canada about the middle of February, 
1691 ; and, traveling over the river, my 
master pitched his wigwam in sight of 
some French houses ; and then they sent 
me to those houses to beg victuals for 
them. This I did, and found the French 
very kind to me, giving me beef, and pork, 
and bread, of which I had been destitute 
for nine months, so that I experienced a 
happy change in my diet. But so wounded 
were my limbs by the roughness of my 
way, that as I traveled, I might be tracked 
by my blood in the snow. When I was 
about to go again to beg of the French, I 
asked leave to stay all night, to which my 
master consented, and sent me eastward, 
to houses which were towards Qeubec, 



4* 




dflW 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 43 

though then I knew it not. Having there- 
fore begged provisions at a French house, 
as it was near night, as I was myself 
refreshed, and had food to carry to the 
Indians, I signified as well as I could to 
the French woman that I desired to stay 
by her fire that night. 

On this," she laid a good bed on the floor, 
and good coverings for me, and there I 
lodged comfortably. The next morning, 
before I left the house to return to my 
Indian master, two men came in, and one 
of them said to me in English, u I am 
glad to see j^ou, country-woman!" It 
was exceedingly reviving to me to hear 
the voice of an Englishman. The other 
man was a French tavern keeper. After 
some conversation, he asked me to go with 
him to Quebec, which, he told me, was 
about four miles off. I replied that my In- 
dian master might kill me on my return. 
After my English friend had conversed in 
French with his fellow-traveler, he said to 
me that this Frenchman engaged, that if I 
would go with them, he would keep me 



44 HANNAH SWANTON, 

fror^L returning to the Indians, and I should 
be ransomed, and my French hostess per- 
suaded me to comply with their invitation. 
I went accordingly, and was conveyed to 
the house of the Lord-Intendant, Monsieur 
le Tonant, who was Chief Judge, and 
second to the Governor, by whose lady I 
was kindly entertained, and had French 
clothes given me instead of my Indian 
dress, with good food and lodging ; and 
then I was removed to the hospital, where 
I received medical attention, and was very 
courteously provided for. After some time, 
when my Indian master and mistress came 
for me, the lady-intendant paid my ransom, 
and I became her servant. To the honor 
of the French, I must say, they were 
exceedingly kind to me at first, even as 
much as I could expect from my own 
countrymen, so that I wanted nothing 
for my accommodation which they could 
supply. 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 45 



ROMAN CATHOLIC ARGUMENTS. 

Thus I experienced a great and happy 
change in my circumstances, being deliver- 
ed from my former hardships, and from my 
cruel oppressors ; but now I met with 
stronger temptations, and spiritual trouble, 
and danger to my soul. For the lady, my 
mistress, the nuns, the priests, the friars, 
and others, assailed me, with all their 
strength of argument, from Scripture, as 
they interpreted it, to persuade me to be- 
come a Papist. They urged me with very 
much zeal, love, entreaties, and promises, 
to turn to them; and with many threaten- 
ings, and sometimes with harsh usage, be- 
cause I did not adopt their religion. Indeed, 
they sometimes threatened to send me to 
France to be burned, because I would not 
be a Papist. Then was I consoled by that 
Scripture, " We were pressed out of mea- 
sure above strength, insomuch that we 



46 HANNAH SWANTON, 

despaired even of life ; but we had the sen- 
tence of death in ourselves that we should 
not trust in ourselves." I knew God was 
able to deliver me, as he did Paul, and as 
he did the three children out of the fiery 
furnace; and I believed he would either 
deliver me from them, or fit me for what he 
called me to suffer for his sake and name. 
For their praying to angels they brought 
the history of the angel who was sent to the 
virgin Mary. I answered them from Rev. 
19 : 10, and 22 : 9, " And I fell at his feet 
to worship him. And he said unto me, 
See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, 
and of thy brethren that have the testimony 
of Jesus : worship God." " And when I 
had heard and seen, I feel down to worship 
before the feet of the angel which showed 
me these things. Then saith he unto me, 
See thou do it not : for I am thy fellow ser- 
vant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and 
of them which keep the sayings of this 
book: worship God." 

For purgatory, they adduced Matt. 5: 25, 
" Agree with thine adversary quickly, 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 47 

while thou art in the way with him ; lest 
at any time the adversary deliver thee to 
the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the 
officer, and thou be cast into prison. Veri- 
ly, I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no 
means come out thence, till thou hast paid 
the uttermost farthing." I replied, that to 
agree with our adversary in the way, was, 
to agree with God while here on earth ; 
and if we did not agree with him, we 
should be cast into hell, and should not 
come out till we had paid the uttermost 
farthing, which would never be paid. But 
■ it is needless for me, a poor woman, to in- 
form the world what arguments I used, 
even if I could now remember them, and 

• many of them have escaped from my 
memory. 

* FELLOWSHIP WITH THE ROMISH 

RELIGION DECLINED. 

> I shall proceed to relate my trials on this 
subject. I was compelled, either to main- 
tain the religion in which I was brought 



48 HANNAH SWANTON, 

up, and which in my conscience I believed 
to be true ; or adopt another which I be- 
lieved was false. I was preserved from 
apostacy by that Scripture, " Whosoever 
shall confess me before men, him will I 
confess also before my Father which is in 
heaven. But whosoever shall deny me be- 
fore men, him will I also deny before my 
Father which is in heaven." I thought, 
that if I should deny the truth, and own 
their religion, I should deny Christ. Yet, 
at their persuasion, I went to see, and at- 
tend their worship sometimes ; but never to 
receive their sacrament. And once when I 
was at their worship, this Scripture came 
to my mind, " What communion hath light 
with darkness? And what concord hath 
Christ with Belial? or what part hath he 
that believeth with an infidel? And what 
agreement hath the temple of God with 
idols? Wherefore come out from among 
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, 
and touch not the unclean thing; and I 
will receive you; and I will be a Father 
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and my 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 49 

daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." This 
Scripture so impressed my mind that I 
thought I erred in being present at the idol- 
atrous worship, and I resolved never more 
to attend it. But when the time drew nigh, 
that I was to go again, 1 was so restless that 
night, that I could not sleep; for I was 
thinking what I should say, when urged 
again to attend, and what I should do. In 
the morning, a French woman of my ac- 
quaintance, said to me, that if I would not 
be of their religion, I did but mock at it, to 
go to their worship; and she told me that 
if I would not be of their religion, I should 
go no more. Accordingly I went no more, 
for they did not force me to it. 

SORROW FOR SIN . 

I had many conflicts in my mind, fearing 
that I was not truly converted, and that I 
had no saving interest in Christ. I could 
not be of a false religion, to please men ; 
for it was against my conscience, and I was 
not fit to suffer for the true religion, and for 



50 HANNAH SWANTON, 

Christ; fori then feared I had no interest 
in him. I was neither fit to live, nor fit to 
die ; and once I was brought to the very- 
pit of despair, about what would become of 
my soul. By this time I had got an Eng- 
lish Bible, and other good books, by the 
help of my fellow-captives. I looked over 
the Scriptures, and I was arrested by the 
prayer of Jonah, " I said I am cast out of 
thy sight, yet will I look again toward thy 
holy temple." I resolved I would do as 
Jonah did ; and in meditation upon this 
Scripture, the Lord was pleased by his 
spirit to come into my soul, and to fill me 
with comfort so ravishing that I cannot 
describe it. Then came to my mind the 
history of the transfiguration of Christ, and 
of Peter's saying, " Lord, it is good for us 
to be here. 7 ' I thought it was good for me 
to be here ; and I was so filled with com- 
fort and joy, that I even wished I could be 
so always, and never sleep : or else die in 
that rapture of joy, and never live to sin 
any more against the Lord. Now I thought 
id v/a c . my God, and that my sins were 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 51 

pardoned through Christ ; and now I could 
suffer for Christ, yea, die for Christ, or do 
any thing for him. My sins had been a 
burden to me ; and I desired to see them 
all, and repent of them with my whole 
heart, and of that sin which had especially 
oppressed me, namely, that I left the public 
ivorship and ordinances of God, to go and 
live in a remote place, without the public 
ministry ; depriving ourselves and our chil- 
dren of so great a benefit to our souls ; and 
all this for worldly advantages. I found a 
heart to repent of them all ; and to lay hold 
of the blood of Christ, to cleanse me from 
them all. 

COMFORT IN RELIGION. 

I found much comfort, while among the 
French, in the opportunities I sometimes 
had to read the Scriptures and other good 
books, and to pray to God in secret. I en- 
joyed greatly, also, the conferences about 
the things of God, and the seasons of social 
prayer which some of us captives held ; 
and I especially enjoyed myself with one 



52 

that was in the same house with me, Mar- 
garet Stilson. Then was the word of God 
precious to us; and they that feared the 
Lord spake one to another as we had op- 
portunity. Colonel Tyng and Mr. Alden, 
as they were permitted, spake to us to con- 
firm and strengthen us in the ways of the 
Lord. At length the French debarred our 
coming together for religious conference or 
other duties; and word was sent us by 
Mr. Alden, that this was one kind of perse- 
cution that we must suffer for Christ. 

These are some of the Scriptures which 
have been my support and comfort in the 
affliction of my captivity among the papists. 
That in Ezek. 16: 6 — 8, I applied to my- 
self, and I desired to enter into covenant 
with the Lord, and to be his ; and I prayed 
to the Lord, and hoped he would return me 
to my country again, that I might enter 
into covenant with him, among his people, 
and enjoy communion with him in his 
churches and public ordinances. These 
prayers the Lord has now heard and gra- 
ciously answered ; praised be his name ! 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 53 

The Lord enable me to live suitably to his 
mercy, and to those precious public privi- 
leges which I now enjoy ! That passage 
in the eleventh chapter of Ezekiel was a 
great comfort to me in my captivity ; " Al- 
though I have cast them far off among the 
heathen, yet will I be a little sanctuary to 
them : I will gather you from the people 
where you have been scattered." I found 
God a little sanctuary to me there, and I 
hoped he would bring me into the country 
from whence I had been scattered. And 
the Lord hath heard the prayer of the des- 
titute and not despised my prayer, but he 
has granted me the desire of my soul, in 
bringing me to his house, and to my rela- 
tions again. I often thought on the history 
of the man born blind ; of whom Christ, 
when his disciples asked, " Who did sin, 
this man, or his parents, that he was born 
blind?" answered, " Neither hath this man 
sinned, nor his parents : but that the works 
of God should be made manifest in him." 
So, though I had desired all this, yet I knew 
not but that one reason of God's bringing 



54 HANNAH SWANTON, 

all these afflictions upon me, and then en- 
abling me to bear them, was, that the 
works of God might be made manifest. In 
my great distress I was revived by that 
Scripture, "I shall not die but live, and 
declare the works of the Lord. The Lord 
had chastened me sore, but he hath not 
given me over to death." I had very often 
a secret persuasion, that I should live to 
declare the works of the Lord. The 2 
Chron. 6 : 36 — 39, was also a precious 
Scripture to me in the day of evil, " If they 
sin against thee (for there is no man which 
sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, 
and deliver them over before their enemies, 
and they carry them away captives unto a 
land far off or near ; yet if they bethink 
themselves in the land whither they are 
carried captive, and turn and pray unto 
thee, in the land of their captivity, saying, 
We have sinned; we have done amiss, and 
have dealt wickedly ; if they return to thee 
with all their heart and with all their soul 
in the land of their captivity, whither they 
have carried them captives, and pray to- 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 55 

ward their land which thou gavest unto 
their fathers, and toward the city which 
thou hast chosen, and toward the house 
which I have built for thy name ; then 
hear thou from the heavens, even from thy 
dwelling-place, their prayer and their sup- 
plications, and maintain their cause, and 
forgive thy people which have sinned 
against thee." 
• Margaret and I have read over and 
prated over this Scripture, and talked to- 
gether of it ; how the Lord had promised, 
though they were scattered for their sins, 
yet they should return, if they did bethink 
themselves, and turn, and pray. Thus we 
did bethink ourselves in the land where we 
were carried captive, we did return, did 
pray, and endeavored to return to God with 
all our hearts. And as they were to pray 
toward the temple, I took it that I should 
pray toward Christ ; and accordingly I did 
so, and hoped the Lord would hear ; and 
■ he hath heard from heaven his dwelling- 
place, my prayer and supplication, and 
maintained my cause, and not rejected me, 



56 HANNAH SWANTON, 

but returned me. And O, how affectionate 
was my reading of the 84th Psalm in this 
condition. 



DELIVERANCE FROM CAPTIVITY. 

The means of my deliverance were letters 
that passed between the governments of 
New England and of Canada. Mr. Cary 
was sent with a vessel to bring capites 
from Quebec, and when he came, I, among 
others, and my youngest son, had our 
liberty to come away ; and by God's bless- 
ing, we arrived in safety, in November, 
1695, at Boston, our desired haven. 

I desire, therefore, to praise the Lord for 
his goodness, and for his wonderful works 
to me. What shall I render to the Lord for 
all his benefits ! 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 57 



MAINE FLOURISHES BY RELIGION 
AND PEACE. 

For about ten years the country endured 
the calamities of war, until in 169S, they 
ceased, in consequence of the treaty of 
peace concluded at Ryswick in 1697, be- 
tween the English and French. Until 
1699, Falmouth continued a desolation, a 
haunt of the savage man and of the savage 
beast. At length the white man came 
again, the worshiper of God. The Bible 
was brought; the altar of God was reared 
in the family ; the sanctuary was erected ; 
the minister of the gospel was established ; 
and the worship of Jehovah was com- 
menced. A Christian population grew up, 
and spread over the forest, settled along the 
rivers,* and gathered about the shores ; 
and here and there they soon built a house 
for God; and in the peaceful worship of 
him, and in the great pursuits of useful 



58 HANNAH S WANTON, 



business, they experienced his blessing. 
And here is afforded an example, among 
thousands of other similar examples, that 
the gospel is the most effectual security for 
public prosperity. Would that every parent 
and every child in New England saw, in 
the history of our country, how greatly we 
have been blessed by the Sabbath being 
kept holy, by pious and well-educated min- 
isters being supported, by families generally 
and regularly attending the public worship 
of God, and by children being instructed in 
the catechism, and in the first principles of 
learning by the primer. These habits are 
the foundation of our safety and greatness ; 
and we do not owe our blessings mainly to 
the glittering sword and musket, the heavy 
cannon, the solid battery, and the long and 
deep and regular array of soldiery. It is 
not the ball and the sword, which has 
cleared our woods, and dispossessed the 
savage; for, when we fought, we were 
driven back and perished ; and when peace 
returned, we multiplied; and the axe, the 
hoe, and the plough extended our bounds, 



THE CASCO CAPTIVE. 59 

and reached through the forest. We tell 
our children in Maine, that while the 
Roman Catholic religion keeps the French 
of Canada from improvement and growth, 
we, with the Bible, the preacher, and the 
schoolmaster, shall spread and spread over 
the wilderness, till, with a peaceful popula- 
tion, we crowd to the St. Lawrence, and 
scatter over the hills and valleys the cheer- 
ful school-house and the sacred place of 
public worship. 



APPENDIX 



ROMAN CATHOLIC PRINCIPLES IN CANADA. 

Canada was settled by the French, who 
introduced their religion, being that of the 
church of Rome. That part which they 
occupied is now called Lower Canada, and 
nine-tenths of its inhabitants are now (in 
1830) Roman Catholics. The church of 
Rome calls herself the Holy Catholic 
Church. The word catholic means univer-' 
sal, and therefore, as some other churches 
claim to be universal or catholic, this is 
called the Roman Catholic Church, or, for 
the sake of brevity, the Catholic church. 
It may be said of accusations against the 
Catholic church, that they are untrue; and 
that she does not hold the doctrines chargedl 
upon her as errors. The words of the! 



APPENDIX. 61 

church itself, however, can be appealed to, 
as found in the catechism of the diocese of 
Quebec, by John de la Croix de Saint 
Valier, bishop of that See, printed in the 
French language, in Paris, France. The 
catechism, though published so long ago, 
expresses the Catholic faith of this day; 
for the Catholic church professes to be 
infallible; as may be seen by the following 
extracts : 

"Make an act of faith." 

" My God, I believe firmly all that the 
Church believes ; for thou hast revealed it 
to the Church." 

"Are we obliged to believe all that the 
Church proposes to us?" 

" Yes; if any one hears not the Church, 
we must hold him for a heathen man and 
a publican." 

" Cannot the Church err?" 

"By no means, because it is the pillar 
and ground of the truth." 

"What do you understand by the 
Church?" 

"I understand that it is the assembly of 



62 APPENDIX. 

believers, who, under the care of legitimate 
pastors, make but one and the same body, 
of which Jesus Christ is the head." 

"What is the fourth reason of their 
being but one body ? " 

" It is that they have but one invisible 
head, which is Jesus Christ, and one visible 
head, which is the Pope, the vicar of Jesus 
Christ upon earth, and the successor of St. 
Peter." 

Whatever, therefore, have been the prin- 
ciples of the Catholic church in any past 
age, they are the same now; and the 
catechism of the diocese of Quebec must 
teach, in 1839, what the catechism of the 
diocese taught in 1700. 

Of this catechism, the bishop says in the 
preface, to the curates, missionaries, and 
believers of the diocese, " We command 
you to confine yourselves exclusively to 
this catechism, and we forbid you to make 
use, in public, of any other. Throughout 
Canada, therefore, this catechism was the 
book from which the young were instruct- 
ed in the Catholic religion. The copy in 



APPENDIX. 63 

the possession of the author appears to 
have been thoroughly used, particularly 
that part containing the little catechism for 
children. 

The youth, who are encouraged to read 
and study the Bible for themselves in their 
own language, may see what* the children 
of Canada were taught to believe, and what 
is the Catholic faith over the world. 

You are taught that the whole body of 
men throughout the world, professing the 
faith of the gospel, and obedience to God 
by Christ according to it, not destroying 
their profession by fundamental errors, or 
unholiness, they and their children with 
them are, and may be called, the visible 
Catholic church of Christ. 

But the children of Canada were taught 
that " the church is the congregation of 
believing Christians, who make profession 
of the doctrine of Jesus Christ in submis- 
sion to their holy father the Pope," and 
thus they were made to believe that none 
were of the church of Christ but Roman 
Catholics. 



64 APPENDIX. 

You are taught that baptism is a 
sacrament, wherein the washing with 
water in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth 
signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, 
and partaking of the benefits of the cove- 
nant of grace, and our engagement to be 
the Lord's; and, that grace and salvation 
are not so inseparably annexed to this 
ordinance as that no person can be re- 
generated or saved without it; or that 
all that are baptized are undoubtedly re- 
generated. 

You are taught, therefore, by baptism, 
that you must have an inward, spiritual, 
holy change, or you cannot be saved ; and 
that you must seek this change, 

But Roman Catholic children are taught 
that " baptism is a sacrament which effaces 
original sin, and makes us children of God, 
and of the church," and that "without it 
no one can be saved.'' 

Such instruction would bewilder your 
minds, prevent you from seeking true 
holiness, and make you secure in your 



APPENDIX. 65 

sins, however immoral you might be. But 
your parents and teachers, who protest 
against the errors of the Roman Catholic 
church, maintain that it is not enough that 
you be baptized ; but also that your heart 
must be renewed by the Holy Spirit, and 
your thoughts, affections and life made 
holy. 

You are taught that the Lord's supper 
is a sacrament, wherein, by giving and 
receiving bread and wine, according to 
Christ's appointment, his death is showed 
forth, and the worthy receivers are, not 
after a corporal and carnal manner, but by 
faith, made partakers of his body and 
blood, with all his benefits, to their spirit- 
ual nourishment and growth in grace, and 
that it is required of those that would 
worthily partake of the Lord's supper, that 
they examine themselves, of their know- 
ledge to discern the Lord's body, of their 
faith to feed upon him, of their repentance, 
love, and new obedience ; lest, coming 
unworthily, they eat and drink judgment 
to themselves. 



APPENDIX. 

But Roman Catholic children are taught 

thus : 

"What is the sacrament of the Eucha- 
rist?" 

M It is a sacrament, which contains really 
and truly the body, the blood, the soul and 
divinity of our Saviour Jesus Christ, con- 
tained under the form or appearance of 
bread and wine." 

"What then does one receive when he 

communes?" 

"He receives the body, the blood, the 
soul and divinity of our Lord, under the 
form or appearance of bread or wine." 

" What is it which you call the form or 
appearance of bread?" 

"It is that which appears to our senses 
as whiteness, bulk, figure and taste." 

"Under these forms or appearances of 
bread, is not the substance of bread also 

there?" 

" No, it is changed into the body of our 
Lord by the sacramental words." 

" Is our Lord, then, in all the hosts which 
the priest consecrates?'' 



I 



APPENDIX. 67 

" Yes, he is whole and entire in every 
host."* 

" When the priest breaks the host, does 
he break the body of our Lord?" 

" No ; for they are only the forms or ap- 
pearances of bread which are broken." 

"Does the body of our Lord remain 
whole and entire under every part of the 
forms, when they are broken?" 

" Yes, it is certain that, under every part 
of the forms, he remains as entire as in the 
whole host." 

" What is there in the cup which we 
adore in the holy mass ? " 

a It is the precious blood of our Saviour, 
and the same that was shed for us upon 
the wood of the cross." 

" Is there any blood in the cup? " 

"Pardon me. Jesus Christ is there 
whole and entire, as well as under the 
forms and appearances of bread." 

They who are permitted and encouraged 
to read the Bible, and to cultivate their 



* Host, from the Latin, hostia, a sacrifice. 



68 APPENDIX. 

minds that they may think for themselves 
on religious subjects, may bless God, that 
they are not, like many, compelled to 
believe what their senses altogether con- 
tradict, and what appears false to sound 
reason. You can see that the bread, in 
the Lord's supper, remains bread, that it 
looks like bread, feels to the touch like 
bread, smells and tastes like bread; and 
yet the children of Roman Catholics are 
made to believe that it is not bread ; and 
they must believe further that it is the 
body and blood, the soul and divinity of 
Jesus Christ, contrary to their reason and 
and testimony of their senses. Thus they 
are prepared to believe whatever their 
church, their priests, and their religious 
books may teach, however unreasonable 
and opposite to all their perceptions. They 
are prepared, also, to distrust in general 
their own senses, and their own reasons, 
and to receive any absurdities, which 
cunning and wicked men may wish to 
impose upon them. 

You are taught that Christians are 



APPENDIX. 69 

persons who are convinced of their sin 
and misery, whose minds are enlightened 
in the knowledge of Christ, whose wills 
are renewed, and who are persuaded and 
enabled to embrace Jesus Christ freely 
offered to them in the gospel ; but Roman 
Catholic children are taught differently, as 
may be seen by the following questions 
and answers : 

" What is the mark of a Christian?" 

" It is the sign of the cross." 

" How do you make it 1 " 

" I make it by putting my right hand to 
my forehead, then to my breast, next to 
my left shoulder, and lastly to my right 
shoulder." 

All religion, which consists in outward 
forms, rather than in true holiness, spiritual 
worship, and sound morality, is deceptive, 
corrupting, Babylonish, and anti-christian, 
whatever name this religion may have, 
whether Roman Catholic, or some other 
name. Many churches, which do not 
submit to the Bishop of Rome, and many 
even which call themselves Protestant, 



70 APPENDIX. 



have the spirit of the Catholic church, and 
they will partake of the curse pronounced 
in Revelations on the beast, which makes 
war with the Lamb, and with the saints. 

Our youth may therefore thank God for 
his mercy, that, by his grace, they have 
learned to read the Bible for themselves, 
that their minds have been educated ; that 
they have been taught to think for them- 
selves, to believe in the testimony of their 
own senses, and to rely upon the con- 
clusions of their own reason ; and that they 
have had secured to them the liberty 
of choosing their own religious opinions 
and worship, while they do not disturb 
others' liberty and rights. By being so 
educated as to worship God spiritually and 
truly, and to avoid marking ourselves by 
the practice of any empty forms and 
superstitious observances, we may escape 
from such judgments, as an angel is 
represented in Revelation, as uttering with 
a loud voice, " If any man worship the 
beast and his image, and receive the mark 
in his forehead, or in his hand, the same 

BD 12.8 . _ 



APPENDIX. 71 

shall drink of the wine of the wrath of 
God, which is poured out without mixture 
into the cup of his indignation : and he 
shall be tormented with fire and brimstone 
in the presence of the holy angels, and in 
the presence of the Lamb ; and the smoke 
of their torment ascendeth up for ever and 
ever ; and they have no rest day nor night, 
who worship the beast and his image, 
and whosoever receiveth the mark of his 
name." 

The principles described as those of the 
Catholic church in Canada, in 1700, will 
show why the French of that country, 
though amiable in disposition, and kind in 
deed, should have no charity for the re- 
ligion of Mrs. Swanton ; and should urge 
her, even beyond reason, to adopt their 
worship. It may be seen, too, what cause 
she had for anxiety and distress, lest she 
should be induced to embrace it. It may 
also be preceived that the Christians of 
Maine, as the population of the State shall 
extend to the borders of Canada, will be 
near a great body of Catholics, and will 



72 



APPENDIX. 



have occasion to guard against an imposing 
religion, especially by teaching the young 
divine truth in the sound catechism, but 
above all, by the Bible itself; and that 
tHey will be sacredly called, by their love 
to Christ, and to their fellow-men, to pray 
for, and to enlighten a people, who, though 
uneducated and superstitious, are indus- 
trious, quiet and hospitable. 













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